Signal bond protecting device



vJune 4, 1957 D. 'n. BRAcKEN 2,794,902

SIGNAL BOND PROTECTING DEVICE Filed Now. 13. 1956 xf- 1164. "m l l l I P- 19.4 BY- ATTORNEYS 2,794,902 y A:"'a.-ternted June 4, 1957 SIGNAL BOND PROTECTING DEVICE DavidR. Bracken, Charleston, l'li.

Application November 13, 1956, Serial No. 621,574

The present? invention relates to railway track welding accessories` and more particularly to devices for protect#v ingrailwaytra'ck signal bondsl during welding ofrail joints During1use,ithe opposed ends of the upper tlanges of adjacent railsections of a railroad traclc become worn as al result'` of the wheels of the cars and'` locomotives striking the endedges ofthe upperangefof the rails as they traverseV the small space between` ends of adjacent rails at the rail'` joints. As is well known, thesespacings become quite' small or practically non-existent as the rails expand during hot weather `and become relatively large as thek rails contract during cold weather. ri`he wider' thisl gap between the adjacentl ends ofV successive rails, the. greater is theiwear on therail ends. Since itis customaryl to send electrical signals through the rails for controland signalling purposes, it is necessary to electrically bridge these varying length gaps between. the ends of successive rails by a flexible electrical connection. Such connections aretknown as signal bonds.

When the'rail endl upper llange wear becomes excessive,

it is customary to replace the worn away rail metal. and

restore the rail to its. original contours by depositing molten metal by a welding process. ln so doing, there is very great danger that the heat produced, stray arc from. the arc welding. apparatus or molten metal will sever orl disconnect the signal bond; If the bond is severed or disconnected,` it sets signal flashersworking, throwsl redlights' against oncoming trains and otherwise seri# ously disrupts the` railway communicationsystem.

With the foregoing general considerations in view, it is the primary object of the present invention to provide a lightweight inexpensive portable device which maybe readily and rapidly mounted in operative position toT formf a shield protecting the signal bonds from damage. due to heat, stray arcor molten metal during rail joint rail metal restoration operations.

More specifically is an object of this inventionvto'pro-. vide a railway signal bond protecting device which embodies a= shielding element of such configuration as to partially 'envelop' a signal bond to shield it from the heat of welding. and molten metal Without interferingk with the `welding operation and support structure forr holding the shieldingelement in its operative position.

Afurther, object' ofthe present invention is to provide arailway signalv bond'protecting device which embodies an elongated carbon block shielding element having one face adapted to engage the side face of the upper llange of a rail in continuous contact above the signal bond at a rail joint to intercept stray arc and molten metal and which is suitably recessed to partially envelop the signal bond and its points of connection to the successive rails without interfering with the welding operation in restoring the worn ends of the successive rails and support structure for holding the carbon block shielding element in its operative position.

A further specic object of the present invention is to provide a railway signal bond protecting device which embodies a shielding element of such configuration as to partially envelop a signal bond to shield it from the heat of welding,rstray arc and molten metal during rail restoration without interfering with the welding operation and a vertically adjustable support structure for holding the shielding element in its operative position which may be readily and rapidly adjusted to properly support the shielding element in spaced relationship above the ties irrespective of the variations in the height of the rail in accordance with the weight of the rail.

These and other `objects of the present invention will become more fully apparent by reference to the appended claims and as the following detailed description proceeds in reference to the accompanyingdrawings wherein:

Figure l is a side elevational view illustrating a rail joint with the signal bond protecting device of the present invention` in its `operative position relative thereto;

Y Figure 2 is a top plan view of the structure shown in Figure l; y

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 3f--3y ofV Figure: l;

Figure 4y is a side elevational view ofthe signal bond protecting device of the present invention as viewed'froni the side thereof which is adapted to face the rail; during the-operation.

Referring now=to the drawings in detail, Figures l and 2, illustrateV a typical rail` joint formed by aligned rail end sections 1'0-l and 12, separated by a gap 13 and supported upon spaced ties 14 and 16 and connected by fish plates 18 and 2t) which are fixed to the rail endl sections 10 andy 12 by bolts 22. The rail endl sections 1t) and 12 are electrically connected by av signal` bond 24 which isa flexible metal wire fixedV to rail end sections 10 and 12 by bond attachment devices 26 and 28i The bond 24 is a-flexible heavy-.duty cable and is welded at its opposite ends tothe attachment devices 26 and 28` which are lixedy tothe rail end sections 10 and 12.

Metal tie plates 36 and 32 are interposed between the bottom flanges of the rail end sections 1i) and 12 and the ties 14 and 16 respectively and the rail end sections 10 and 12 are fixed to the ties 14 and 16 by spikes 34.

Referring to- Figures 3 and 4 the signal bond protecting device of the present invention comprises ashield 36 whichis a carbon block approximately two inches by two inches square and approximately ten inches long. The face 38 of shield 36A is adapted to engage the side face of the rail upper flange in continuous surface contact above the signal bond and isformed a pair of recesses 40 and 42, each of which is approximately one and one-half inches in diameter and approximately one-half inch deep, and which are so spaced that the distance from they outside edge of recess 4G to the outside edge of recess 42 is approximately seven inches. The face 38 ofthe shield 36 is formed with a further cutaway portion 4'4 extending between and communicating with the recesses 48 and 42 as shown in Figure 4. The recesses 40 and 42 are so spaced that when the shield 36 isl placed with its face 3S in abutment with the side of the rail upper flange as illustrated in Figure 3, the attachment devices 26 and 2Sy will be received'within `the recesses 42-and Ai'tfrrespectivelyy and the signal bond 24 will lie-received within' the `cutaway portion 44, the remaining portion of face 38 being in surface contact with the side face of the upper rail flange of the rail above and on the sides of the signal bond 24 as illustrated in Figures 2 and 3.

The block 36 is supported by a vertically adjustable support structure 46 comprising a base plate 48 of such length as to span the distance between and rest at its ends upon the tops of the adjacent ties 14 and 16, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, an offset plate S0, an upstanding sleeve 52 xed at its lower end to the top surface of the olset plate 50, a tubular member 54 received within the sleeve 52 in telescopic relationship, and a plate v56 welded to the top of tubular member 54 in parallel relationship to the offset plate 50. The plate 56 is approximately one-fourth inch thick, three and one-half inches wide and equal in length to the length of the shield 36. The edge of plate 56 remote from the tubular member 54 is received in a longitudinally extending slot 58 formed in the face of block 36 opposite face 38, the 'slot 58 being approximately one-half inch deep, and the block 36 and plate 56 are fixed together by bolts 62 which are suitably spaced along the length of the block 36 and plate 56 as shown in Figure 2. A nut 64 is braised to the exterior of sleeve 52 and an aperture is formed through sleeve 52 in alignment with the aperture in nut 64 to accommodate a set screw 66 which is threaded in nut 64 into binding engagement with the tubular member 54 to fix the adjusted relative axial position between sleeve 52 and tubular member 54. The relative adjusted position between sleeve 52 and tubular member 54, as illustrated in Figures 3 and 4, is for the minimum weight `rail. When the signal bond protecting device is used in conjunction with heavier rail, it may be readily adjusted and fixed in a higher position of the block 36 by loosening set screws 66, lifting the tubular member 54 relative to the offset plate 50 and retightening the set screw 66.

; As is apparent, when the device 46 is placed in its operative position as shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3 it partially envelops the signal bond 24 and the attachment devices 26 and 28 and is in continuous surface contact with the side face of the upper fiange of the rail sections and 12 above the signal bond 24 and the attachment devices 26 and 28 to effectively shield the bond 24 and connecting devices 26 and 28 from the heat stray arc and molten metal resulting from welding the ends of the rail sections 10 and 12 at the gap 13 for rail restoration purposes.

i The shield 36 is preferably formed of carbon because of its low thermal conductivity, in the order of 4.00 B. t. u./l1our/ sq. ft./ degree F./ft., and resistance to the effect of heat, molten metal and stray arc but may be formed of any other suitable low thermal conductivity heat resistant material.

From the foregoing detailed description it is apparent that the present invention provides a lightweight, inexpensive device which may be easily carried by a Welder along a railway track on which he is performing restoration operations on the rail joints, which may be easily and rapidly placed in position, which does not interfere with the rail welding restoration, which is easily adjustable for use in conjunction with various weight rails, and which forms a protective device effectively shielding the signal bonds and the attachment devices by which it is connected to the rails from the heat, stray arc and molten metal of the welding operation.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by United States Letters Patent is:

1. A welding protector for use in protecting railway track signal bonds during the replacement of worn away rail metal at the joint of adjacent aligned rails comprising a support base adapted to rest on the rail ties adjacent a joint between adjacent rails, an upstanding support element rigidly mounted on said support between its ends, a shield member of heat and electrical arc resistant material adapted to abuttingly engage a side face of the upper flange of the adjacent rails at either side of said joint and span the joint, and a holder for such shield member having a depending formation adjustably cooperating with said upstanding support element to retain said shield member in are and molten metal intercepting position above the signal bonds spanning the joint during the welding operation.

2. The protector defined in claim 1 wherein the support base comprises an elongated plate dimensioned to span the distance between adjacent ties at either side of said rail joint, said support element comprises a sleeve open at its upper end and carrying a set screw and said depending formation of said holder comprises a rod dimensioned to telescopically fit in said sleeve and be vertically positioned therein by said set screw.

3. The protector of claim 1 wherein said shielding member comprises an elongated block of carbon having an abutment face formed to firmly engage the side face of the upper rail ange.

4. A signal bond protecting device adapted to prevent severance `of a signal bond during rail joint upper ange restoration by welding comprising a shield of greater length than the overall length of a signal bond and adapted to engage the side face of the upper flange of adjacent rail end sections in substantially continuous surface contact above and at the sides of such a signal bond, and means for supporting said shield in operative position. 5. The signal bond protecting device defined in claim 4 wherein said supporting means comprises a pair of relatively vertically shiftable members, and manually manipulatable means for securing said members in fixed vertical relation.

6. The signal bond protecting device defined in claim 4 wherein said shield comprises a body of carbon having a face the upper portion of which is substantially planar and adapted to engage a side face of an upper rail flange in substantially continuous surface contact and a lower portion of which is recessed to accommodate a signal bond and signal bond attachment devices therein.

7. The device defined in claim 6 wherein said carbon body is formed with a top surface substantially perpendicular to the first said face and so spaced from said signal bond accommodating lower face portion as to be substantially coplanar with the upper rail flange top surface when in signal bond protecting position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Y1,554,546 Austin Sept. 22, 1925 Y1,805,181 Miller May 12, 1931 1,924,838 Daley Aug. 29, 1933 1,976,526 Tracy Oct. 9, 1934 2,070,890 Frickey Feb. 16, 1937 

